


Just a Little Thing

by Helen8462



Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: Backstory, Canon Death, F/F, One Night Stand-ish, Oops we're both in Starfleet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-05
Updated: 2018-03-05
Packaged: 2019-03-27 04:54:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13873569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Helen8462/pseuds/Helen8462
Summary: “You may have a thing for soldiers, but I have a thing for redheads.”





	Just a Little Thing

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Pixie (magnetgirl)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/magnetgirl/gifts).



> This is my gift fic for the wonderful PixieDane for the Trek RarePair Swap Round 19. I was very excited to get to write for you, Pixie, and this was certainly an interesting pair. I really hope you enjoy it.

* * *

What she recalls above all else is that the place was seedy as hell.

“Let’s get away from campus,” her roommate had said.  “Tonight’s our last chance.” 

All Sylvia Tilly wanted to do was stay in her pajamas and review the germination rates of mycelium spores, but Lorrey couldn’t be argued with, and Tilly admitted that her friend was right. 

Fast-tracked as she was, a full four-year term was never in Tilly’s future, but the mandatory two and a half years had certainly flown by.  Lorrey, a full senior, was posting out, too.  And now, with the war on, well, she couldn’t be sure when they would next have the opportunity to go out for a bit of fun.  

“Are you coming or not?” Lorrey huffed from outside Tilly’s closed door.  “And your answer had better be ‘yes’ or I’m going to drag you out by your boots.”

“Where are we going?” Tilly shouted, looking up from her computer.

“Does it matter?  Get dressed and let’s go!”

“I am dressed.”

Lorrey banged on the door.  “I _am_ dressed,” Tilly repeated, this time face to face – actually, face to chest with her gorgeous friend.

Lorrey pushed past and into Tilly’s bedroom, clacking her four-inch heels on the hard floor.  The shoes, combined with her already never-ending legs made Lorrey approximately ridiculously tall.  Lorrey flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder while making a disapproving sound.

“No.  Dear.  You are _not_ dressed, you’re in _uniform_.  And to put your mind at ease, we’re going far.  Very far.  So put on something else.  You want to enjoy your last night out, don’t you?”

“We’re supposed to stay in uniform no matter where we go,” Tilly reminded.

“Bollocks,” Lorrey replied.  “You think that war-torn Starfleet really has the time to police our dress code?  Besides, I guarantee you that no one will find us where we’re going.   Now, come on!  And for god’s sake, wear something sexy for once.  You got ‘em, flaunt ‘em.”

* * *

Tilly smoothed a nervous hand down the front of her yellow dress and pulled at the skirt.  She doubled a step to catch up with Lorrey as they traversed a cobblestone back alley.

“Stop messing with it,” chastised her friend.  “You look hot.”

Tilly eyed Lorrey up and down and sighed.  Walking next to Lorrey, in her red dress, heels, perfect makeup and hair, felt like being in the shadow of the sun.  “I shouldn’t have let you talk me into wearing this.  You look hot.  I feel like a tramp.”

“You look amazing.”  Lorrey motioned at Tilly’s cleavage.  “The girls would have been wasted in that other frock.  It’s a good thing I was there to redo you.”

“Hey.  I thought it was cute –“

Lorrey rolled her eyes.  “It was a uniform that someone made into a dress.”

“I liked it,” Tilly muttered, doing her best not to trip on the uneven path.  How Lorrey was staying upright in her gigantic heels, she had no idea.

“Oh, look!  He’s here.”  Lorrey waved toward another individual coming towards them.  “Hi, baby!” she screeched, running and throwing herself into the arms of her boyfriend, Josh.  Josh had broad, muscular shoulders and a thick neck to match.  A crop of blonde hair and a fantastic tan rounded out the jock image he was clearly succeeding at.

Tilly sighed and fell into line behind the two, instantly becoming a very underdressed third wheel.

* * *

“You look like you’re having a miserable time.”

Tilly’s arm had been so long supporting her chin that she nearly couldn’t move it.  The music – if you could call it that – which had been pounding in her ears for far too long distorted the woman’s words. 

“I’m not interested,” Tilly said for what must have been the twentieth time in the last hour. 

“Presumptuous, are we?”

Tilly looked up.  Beside her sat a woman with a gorgeous smile, skin the color of honey and jet-black hair.  Her stomach flipped. “You… you’re talking to me?”

“Well, I’m not talking to the bar.”

“Sorry, it’s just that everyone else who came over was, uh… you know what?  Never mind.”

“Let’s start over,” the woman said.  “You look like you’re having a miserable time.”

“Yes.  That’s, that’s very true.  My friend – roommate, actually – she coerced me into coming here tonight when I should really be studying schematics for… uhm.  I mean, I should be, uh.  Working.  On something.  And then she ditched me for her boyfriend.  All of these random guys keep sliding up, the bartender is nowhere to be found, the music – is this music?” she motioned to the ceiling.  “And, where exactly is the floor?” she gestured to the dirt below her stool.

“I think they forgot it,” the woman said with a dry smile.  She leaned back in her chair.  “All things considered, I’m sure your friend meant well.”

Tilly glanced over her shoulder.  Lorrey was planted in Josh’s lap on a slippery-looking black couch, his tongue firmly entrenched down her throat.

Tilly sighed, suddenly feeling very tired. 

“If you hate it here so much, why don’t you leave?”

“You know, you’re right.  I should just leave, I’ve done my time.”  Tilly pushed off her stool.  “Um.  Thank you.  Enjoy your evening.”

“Wait, wait, wait.”  Tilly felt a hand on her shoulder.  “This place is a bomb, yes.  But your night doesn’t have to be.  When I suggested you leave, I didn’t mean alone.  Why don’t you let me take you out for something more fun?”

“You?  You want to… take me out?” Tilly felt her entire body flush.  She nervously adjusted her dress and put one arm across her chest.

“You don’t have to do that,” the woman said, a sly smile.  “I think you look fantastic.”

“I… uhm.  I’m just not super comfortable with wearing something so, um… so…”

“Revealing?”

“Yeah.”  She fiddled with her hair, twining one of the tight curls around her index finger.

“Your hair is very beautiful too,” the woman said.  She reached out to touch it but stopped short.  “May I?”

“Um, yeah?  Yes.  Of course.” 

The woman’s hand was rough as it brushed Tilly’s cheek, slid higher and pushed her hair behind her ear.  Tilly closed her eyes for a brief second as the woman stepped closer.  She smelled of whiskey and jasmine.

“Oh yes,” the woman said.  “You and I are going to have marvelous fun tonight.”

“We...  We are?”

“Mm, hm,” the woman hummed, finally taking her hand away.

“What’s your, I don’t even know your name,” Tilly said.

The woman smiled and a jolt of electricity shot right through her.  “Ellen.  Come on.  Let’s blow this joint.”

* * *

It was simply not possible that her alarm was going off already.  Not. Possible.  Two hours of sleep had to feel like more than this.

 “Off,” Tilly choked.  She groaned and pulled the cover over her head.  “Computer, off.”

The alarm stopped.

“Morning, bright eyes.” 

Tilly growled, burying herself deeper under the soft blanket.  “Go away.”

Lorrey stepped closer into the room and waved a steaming mug of coffee around the bed.  “I’d love to, but you’re already late and if you don’t get to your training session soon, you can kiss your appointment to _Discovery_ goodbye.”

Tilly sighed and rolled to an upright position.  Her hair remained plastered to the side of her face, and she kept the blanket wrapped tight around her.

“How much did you drink last night?” Lorrey asked, handing over the mug.  “Where did you disappear to?  I was worried.  And how did you make it home?”

“I… too many questions,” she said.  Lorrey yanked back the blinds while Tilly shielded her eyes. 

“Oh, it’s… oh.  Bright.”

“Ok, start with how much did you drink?”

Tilly brushed her hair away and took a tentative sip from the mug.  “Not much.  But I guess I can’t handle my liquor like I used to.”

“No shit, it’s been a while.  Ok, so where did you go?”  Lorrey asked, sitting down on the bed.  Tilly smiled as more than just the coffee warmed her from the inside. 

“I met someone.  We hung out.”

“Was it that brunette chick I saw you with at the bar?”

“Yes, actually.  Oh…” she rubbed her forehead, dropping the blanket she had clutched around her shoulders.  “We took a walk for a while… Got Mexican food.  Found another bar, one that had a real floor.  What the hell was that place anyway?” 

“Josh suggested it, I didn’t know it’d be so gross.  But stop sidetracking me and tell me why you’re wearing an inside-out sweatshirt I’ve never seen before.”

Tilly smirked, looking down at the oversized grey top.  “Turn around, I gotta get dressed,” she said. 

Lorrey huffed. “Okay, but keep talking.”

“So, we – that woman and I – left the dive.  Got some food, then we walked some more…” Tilly said, pulling on her tunic. 

“That was your big night?  You walked and ate tacos?  Until… I think I remember you fumbling at the door sometime around 0430 hours?”

“We might have, um, kinda, yeah we went back to her apartment.”  She pulled on her trousers.

Lorrey spun to face her, eyes wide.  “Oh. My. God.  Are you going to see her again?  Is this serious?”

“No!  It was just a little… I dunno, a little thing,” Tilly said, zipping her uniform jacket. “I’m leaving in a week, remember?  And I’m not sure I could contact her again if I wanted to.  We transported into her living room, I didn’t get an address or even a full name.  I don’t even know what she does for a living.”

“So, then you had a one-night stand?  Shut up.”

“I, I guess I did.”  She smiled, suddenly feeling much more awake.  “That’s a first.”

“Was it good?”

Tilly raised an eyebrow and was just about to spill a few very specific details, when the chronometer caught her eye.  “Oh, shit!  I gotta go.”

She shoved the coffee back to Lorrey and headed, stumbling for the door.

“Uh, Tilly?”

“What?  I’m late.”

“That woman you met last night?  I think she might want to see you again.”

“What?  What makes you say that?”

Lorrey held up the sweatshirt from Tilly’s bed.  

**_Starfleet Academy  
Cmdr. Landry_ **

* * *

Tilly took a seat at the back of the crowded lecture hall and tried desperately to pay attention despite the fog of exhaustion and still-quite-vivid memories dancing in her mind of the night before.

_Commander Landry, Starfleet Academy._

Tilly silently thanked the stars that her time at the academy would soon be over and she’d have no chance of running into her one-night-stand turned superior officer – or worse, potential professor.

The crash-course lecture on starship safety and tactical protocols was dragging.  The professor was dry to stay the least and Tilly seriously considered, several times over, sneaking out the way she had come.

The only thing keeping her rooted to the spot was her memories of the night before, because while she regretted the fact that her encounter had been with a fellow ‘Fleeter, she didn’t regret was the woman.  Ellen… What a fantastic name.  She remembered how it rolled off her tongue, how the woman’s hands moved in ways she’d never experienced before, sending waves of shivering pleasure to every nerve in her body.

When 1100 hours came around, and the professor dismissed them into groups for simulator training, Tilly was beginning to seriously regret that last glass of wine.  Her feet and knees felt like they had been tied up with lead weights. 

“Gamma group,” snapped a voice.  “Look alive.  My name is Commander Landry; I’ll be running you through your sim today.  You make it out alive, or you don’t post to your ship, got it?”

Tilly’s eyes flew wide open.  She stood, shocked and unmoving for a moment.  Had she been more in control of her faculties, she might have high-tailed it out of there and never looked back.  Instead, she slipped quietly towards the back of the group.

“Okay, Cadets.  The ship has just been boarded by hostile forces and you are now entering into a live-fire situation.  What are the three most important things to remember?”  Landry popped the phaser rifle up against her shoulder.

“Stay low,” said one cadet.

“Strength in numbers,” announced another.

Landry surveyed the students, leaned to the side and pointed towards rear of the group.  “And?  You, in the very back there?”

“Uh… um,” Tilly’s stomach leapt into her throat.  She struggled to remember the question, let alone the correct answer.  After a moment she muttered, “Stay low, strength in numbers… Shoot to kill.”  Then she spoke up, “Shoot to kill.”

Landry smiled. “That’s right.  It’s time to start the exam,” she said, peering through the group to meet Tilly’s eyes.  “And you’d better give it your all.  I don’t accept bribes.”

* * *

One by one, Tilly’s group advanced through the training simulation.  One by one, they passed, and one by one they were dismissed, until only Tilly remained.  Alone. 

With Commander Landry.

With Ellen.

“Looks like we’ve saved the best for last,” Landry said with a sly smile.  “You’re up.”  Her ponytail whipped around the side of her face as she turned, thrusting a phaser rifle into Tilly’s hands.

When Tilly didn’t move, Landry put her hand on her hip.  “Something wrong, Cadet?”

“No!” Tilly jumped.  “No, Ma’am, Sir, Ma'am...” she stuttered, trying to keep the training at the forefront of her mind.  “Nothing wrong, I just… I’ve never been very good with a phaser.  Weapons kind of scare me and I haven’t had much practice.”

“That’s actually fairly normal for someone in the sciences, but ship’s security and your own personal safety shouldn’t be excused just because you’re smart,” Landry said, patting her on the shoulder.  “I’ll tell you what—since you’re the last, we’ll do this as many times as it takes to get it right, okay?  No pressure.”

Tilly’s eyes widened.  “That’s… um.  That’s very generous, Ma’am.”

Landry shook her head.  “Call me commander.  My mother is ma’am.  And let’s go, I want to see what I’m working with.”

* * *

If Tilly’s first time through the simulation was bad, the second was a disaster, and it only got progressively worse through attempts three, four, and five. 

“Maybe I should just give up,” Tilly said, panting.  She put her head between her knees to catch her breath.

“You got five of them this last time,” Landry praised.  “You’re getting there.”

“I keep getting shot.  I’m going to be dead.  Admit it, I’ll be _Discovery’s_ first casualty.”

“You just have to go slow,” Landry said, in much the same way she had the night before, Tilly unwittingly recalled before forcing that image out of her head.  “The first few times with a phaser can feel really awkward.  But I’m not letting you give up on yourself.”  She grabbed a rifle from the rack. “Watch me go, okay?  Watch what I do with my shoulders.  You keep dropping yours and it’s costing you time and accuracy. Computer, reload simulation and begin.”

Tilly watched in awe as Landry weaved through the darkened ship’s corridor.  Her movements were catlike, smooth and refined, silent and deadly.  For a moment, Tilly forgot she was supposed to be studying the woman to learn from her, not just admiring her.

One after another, the holographic foes fell – several dozen in all.  When Landry exited the simulation, she hadn’t even broken a sweat.

Landry checked her kills and smiled, then reset the counter.  “Your turn.”

* * *

Tilly waited, foot bobbing and hair down, at the same table she had been at not twenty-four hours before.  Landry’s last words echoed in her ears.  _“I know a little Mexican place.  Meet me there later?  I’m not ordering you, just so you know.  If you don’t want to come –“_

“I’ll be there.” Tilly repeated her response out loud.

“You came.” Ellen slid into the seat across from her.  “I wasn’t sure if you would.”

Tilly took in the sight of the woman in front of her.  She wore a low-V, white sweater and grey slacks.  Tilly, too, had chanced that this would be a casual meeting and had forgone her uniform in favor of the dress Lorey had previously talked her out of wearing. 

“I…um.  I wanted to see you again,” she admitted.  “And I wasn’t sure, with you being an instructor and with what happened between us, I mean, not that there’s anything really between us, but –“

“Syl?” Ellen said.  “Stop talking.”  She leaned across the table and pressed a kiss to Tilly’s cheek.

The contact sent a hum down Tilly’s spine.  “Um… mm hm.  I’m done.  I’m done talking.”  The remaining buzz of nervous energy dissipated and she felt oddly calm, as Ellen had made her feel the night before.

“Good.”  Ellen folded her hands in front of her.  “Now, I want to make one thing clear.  Had I known you were Starfleet, and a student at that, I never would have picked you up in that bar.”

“I… I know.”

“Okay.  And if this makes you uncomfortable in any way, please, feel free to get up and go.”

“Oh, um…” Tilly thought about the prospect of leaving for just an instant and then perished the thought.  “Nope.  I’m not uncomfortable.”

“Good.”

“It’s just…" Tilly wagged her head back and forth.  "You were, are… You’re like a soldier.  A real, honest-to-god soldier.  And I – You’re very good at what you do,” Tilly’s eyes grew wide.  “I mean, in that simulator, not last night, that is, you were good last night too, but I –”

Ellen laughed.  “Are you always this nervous?”

"This is actually _not_ nervous for me," she admitted. "Which is odd... you should see me when I am nervous..." Tilly raised her glass to her lips. 

“Ah.  Well, you’re right, I am good at what I do.  I take a lot of pride in my job and I’ve worked hard to get where I am.  But I’m not invincible, none of us are.  It’s why we can’t have any kind of distraction once we’re posted to _Discovery._ ”

Tilly choked on her water. “Once… uh, once _we’re_ posted to _Discovery?”_

“Yes, Syl.  That’s kind of why I was running the qualifiers today,” she said, eyebrow raised.  “You need to work on paying attention.  I’m Disco’s Chief of Security.”

Tilly’s eyes crew wide, her jaw hung open. “Oh, this is bad.  Bad… oh… See, now I'm nervous...”

“Sylvia,” Ellen said, reaching out to put a hand over Tilly’s. “It’s okay.  We can’t continue seeing each other, obviously.  But no one has to know what happened between us.  With you in engineering we’ll rarely cross paths.  If this were any other time, I’d have you moved to a different ship –“

“Moved?” Tilly squeaked.  “You could… you could do that?  Of course you could do that…”

Ellen chuckled, making Tilly feel suddenly very naive.  “As I was about to say, this is wartime, and every posting is crucial.  You wouldn’t be on _Discovery’s_ roster if it weren’t important.  I’d never mess with that.”

“I just can’t believe, the one time I go out to have fun… the one time I finally meet someone...  And it backfires so thoroughly –”

“I wouldn’t say that exactly,” Ellen said, leaning back with just the slightest air of confidence.  In her eyes was the same sparkle that had attracted Tilly the night before.  “I certainly had a good time.”

“Oh, me too,” Tilly said quickly.  “I don’t regret it, I just –”

“Look,” Ellen said, laying her hands flat on the table.  “I have one more night until I have to report.  And we’re burning precious hours.  Again, no pressure.  If you want to walk out of here right now, we’ll never speak of this again.  And either way, we’re one-hundred percent done come tomorrow.  But…” She reached across the table and twirled a finger in Tilly’s shoulder-length red locks.  “If you’re interested, I don’t see any reason why we can’t have another bit of fun tonight.”

Tilly locked eyes with the woman who was for the moment no longer her instructor, not yet her superior officer. 

Her answer required exactly zero thought.

“Yes.”

* * *

**Six Months Later**

Commander Landry walked with brisk purpose toward the food replicators at the back of the mess hall.  She brushed past the crowded tables, smiled at exactly no one, and sighed when she reached the dispensers.

“Hamburger.  Mustard, extra pickles.  Wheat bun.  And a side of fries.”

Leaning against the wall, she surveyed the room.  Groups of crewmen laughed and chatted at their tables.  She scowled and moved to retrieve her tray, feeling the tension in the overwrought muscles of her neck.  But as she swung around she caught the eye of Cadet Tilly.  A slight smile formed at the corners of her lips.  Tilly quickly averted her eyes back to her soup and spooned at it. 

“You did well on the _Glenn_ today,” Landry said, sliding to a seat opposite Tilly.

“I, uh –” Tilly dropped her spoon back into her soup.  “I survived?  I mean, I guess that’s good, right?”

Landry took a bite of French fry.  “It beats the alternative.”

“But you,” Tilly said, shaking her head.  “You were amazing.  You were so...” she waved her hands up and down, “and, like” she threw both hands open.  Landry continued to glare, a faint smile appearing on her lips.  “It’s just that you’re so, you’re a commander.  A _real_ one.  I don’t think that sunk in before.  You’re really good under pressure, and I’m definitely not and you’re beautiful and strong and… your dinner looks really good…” she faded out.

Landry shook her head and chuckled.  “You’re attracted to soldiers, aren’t you?”

“Um, yes?” she nodded once.  “No,” she started shaking her head.  “No.  That’s completely inappropriate.”

Landry licked the salt from her lips.  “How long is your hair?”

Tilly touched her hand to the back of her bun.  “My, uh.  My hair?”

“Yes.  It’s been a while since I’ve seen it down,” she said softly, leaning in ever-so-slightly.  “Have you let it grow?”

Tilly nodded.  “It’s about, uh, down to here,” she said, making a slicing motion just about her right breast.  “Um, why?”

“Because.”  Landry took her tray and pushed back to stand, then she locked eyes with Tilly.  “You may have a thing for soldiers, but I have a thing for redheads.”

With that, Commander Landry walked away.

* * *

Tilly looked down at the gleaming black surface of the torpedo casing.  In the shine, she saw her own face – one she barely recognized.  She reached behind her head to undo her bun.

Her red curls fell down over her shoulders and she smiled.  “Doesn't exactly conform to protocol,” she said softly.  “But then, neither did you…”

After a few minutes, Tilly heard footsteps approaching from behind and another reflection came into view.

“I didn’t realize you knew her.”

Tilly swiped at the tears hanging on her eyelashes and turned toward the voice.

“I didn’t.  I mean, not really.”

“It’s hard…” Michael said.  “You see someone every day, and then they just disappear.  Forever.  Doesn’t really matter how well you knew them, it still hurts.” 

“I know… I know what Commander Landry did was wrong,” Tilly said. “The way she was treating the Tardigrade, maybe she even deserved it.”

“I wouldn’t say that.  I think she was just a bit too ambitious and a little bit more over-confident.”

“Yeah.  I just…” Tilly sighed and put her hand on the casket.  “I dunno.  She seemed like a really good person.”

“I’m sure she was,” Michael offered.  “I wish we had gotten the chance to find out.”

Tilly nodded and took her hand away.  Then, with a silent prayer, she tied her hair back up and walked away.

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to my two lovely betas, Cheile and MiaCooper.


End file.
